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Corteo

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Corteo
CompanyCirque du Soleil
GenreContemporary circus
Show typeTouring production
Date of premiereApril 21, 2005
Creative team
DirectorDaniele Finzi Pasca
Director of creationLine Tremblay
Set designerJean Rabasse
ComposersPhilippe Leduc
Maria Bonzanigo
Additional composersJean-François Côté
Roger Hewett
Costume designerDominique Lemieux
Makeup designerNathalie Gagné
Sound designerJonathan Deans
Lighting designerMartin Labrecque
Dramaturgical analystDolores Heredia
Acting coachesHugo Gargiulo
Antonio Vergamini
Acrobatic equipmentDanny Zen
Other information
Preceded byKà (2004)
Succeeded byDelirium (2006)
Official website

Corteo (/[invalid input: 'icon']kɔːrˈteɪ.oʊ/) is a Cirque du Soleil touring production that premiered in Montreal, Canada on April 21, 2005. As of May 24, 2005, Cirque du Soleil had broken its record of spectators for the première location in Montreal; more than 200,000 people had viewed the production, far outpacing the prior record of 180,000 tickets sold for Varekai during its première.[1]

Cortéo—an Italian word meaning "cortège," or funeral procession—is a contemporary circus show about a clown who watches his own funeral taking place in a carnival-like atmosphere. It is partly inspired by The Grand Parade: Portrait of the Artist as Clown on display at the National Gallery of Canada.[2]

Directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca, founder of the Swiss clown troupe Teatro Sunil and director of several shows by Cirque Éloize, Cortéo is presented in the round under a large tent. The action takes place on a large circular stage consisting of concentric rotating rings. This allows one area of the stage to rotate while another remains stationary. At times during the performance, the stage is divided by a large curtain illustrated with a painting called the Cortéo Procession. There are entrances/exits at either side of the circular stage.[2]

Set and technical information

Cirque du Soleil divided the Grand Chapiteau in two by creating a stage that spans the diameter of the tent, thus allowing the audience to face one another as well as giving a performer's perspective to them. Built into the 104 feet (32 m) long stage are two turntables which have a diameter of 41 feet (12 m). Corteo's set has a special overhead transport mechanism, dubbed the "Patience", which has two rails which are fitted with four platform-like carts each. Each cart has a lifting capacity of 1,000 pounds (450 kg) and a top speed of 4 feet per second (1.2 m/s). At its highest point, it is 41 feet (12 m) above the stage.[3]

The curtains utilized in Corteo have been painted in watercolors and were inspired by a painting from 1885 by Adolphe Willette. The Roll Drop curtains are about 58 feet (18 m) in width and 40 feet (12 m) in height. The inner curtains were constructed in Canada and sent to France to be painted. Each of the four inner curtains took nearly two weeks to be individually painted.[3]

The design on the center stage is a labyrinth which exactly matches the proportions and size of the one on the floor in the aisle in Chartres Cathedral.[3]

Cast

The principal characters of Corteo are clowns, as is fitting for a clown's funeral, but 62 artists comprise the full troupe.[4][5]

  • Mauro: The central character of Corteo, and the one being honored in this funeral procession. He is also referred to as the dead clown or the dreamer clown.
  • Clowness
  • Giant clown
  • Little clown
  • Loyal whistler: His origins come from the classis role of "Mr. Loyal", the ringmaster of a traditional circus.
  • White clown: A Pierrot.
  • Little angel: Watches over Mauro and guides him.
  • August clown: The White clown's antagonist.

Acts

The acts in Corteo bring together the passion of acting with the grace and power of acrobatics.[6][7]

Retired acts

Costumes

Corteo's costume designer, Dominique Lemieux, utilized "matériaux bruts et des matières nobles"[6] (French for "raw and luxury fabrics") to create the wardrobe for this Cirque du Soleil production in order to accentuate the artist's natural beauty. The finer details of the outfits were inspired by European styles between 1890 and 1930. The color palette chosen was soft in nature, including blue, pink, and fuchsia along with copper and gold hues. In order to create a worn-in, hand-me-down style of clothing, the costumes were airbrushed and dyed. Common fabrics throughout the wardrobe include silk, linen, and cotton, which are adorned with beaded lace, sequins, and gemstones.[6] In total, more than 900 fabrics were utilized to create the 184 costumes. If back-up and rotational costumes are to be taken into account, the total costume count grows to around 450 costumes with 284 rotations.[3] During each show day, 12 to 16 hours of ironing is necessitated in order to prepare the costumes.[5]

  • The performers in the Paradise act are clothed in silk georgette, crêpe de Chine, and satin.
  • The musicians have pleated ruffs along the neckline in addition to engageantes.
  • The White clown is dressed to represent classic commedia dell'arte characters. The fabric is gathered at both the hips and shoulders by cartridge pleats, and the bibs are covered in honeycomb stocking.

Music

File:Corteo CirqueDuSoleilAlbum.jpg
The original album artwork of Corteo, 2005.

Corteo’s score was originally composed by Philippe Leduc and Maria Bonzanigo. Additional composers including Jean-François Côté and Michel A. Smith subsequently reworked several pieces. Show director Daniele Finzi Pasca contributed lyrics. Cirque du Soleil Musique released an album of music from Corteo on 23 September 2006 in Canada, and 7 October 2006 in the US. Corteo was one of the first Cirque du Soleil CDs to feature multiple composers.

The album features the contribution of 61 musicians and singers, a 16-piece choir and a 13-piece string section. Corteo’s lyrics are sung in Italian, French, and Spanish.[8]

The tracks from the CD are listed below and alongside are the acts during which they are played.

  1. Funerale (Opening pt. 1)
  2. Ritornare (Opening pt. 2)
  3. Rêve d'un pantin (Marionette)
  4. Les chevaux à bottes (Little horses)
  5. Nos dejó (Cortege)
  6. Klezmer Moment (Helium dance)
  7. Prendersi per mano (Aerial straps)
  8. Anneaux (Cyr wheels)
  9. El cielo sabrá (Tightwire)
  10. Fugue (Chandeliers)
  11. Volo volando (Chandeliers)
  12. Un tierno y dulce (Planche)
  13. Balade au bout d'une échelle (Freestanding ladder)
  14. Garda lassù (Planche)
  15. Triangle tango (Rhythmic gymnastics)
  16. Che finalone (Tournik)
Further information: Cirque du Soleil discography

Filmography

Cirque released their film adaptation of Corteo on April 11, 2006.[9] It was filmed in Canada in 2005.[10] During the Creative Arts ceremony on September 8, 2007, it won the Emmy award for Outstanding Picture Editing for a Special. The following day, it also won a Gémeaux (Gemini Award) for Meilleur montage - humour, variétés, arts de la scène (best editing - humor, entertainment, performing arts).[11]

Tour

Corteo's 2008 North American tour began on December 18, 2007, in Atlanta, with stops in Dallas, Houston, Columbus, Denver, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary, and Ottawa. The show finished its North American tour in Miami and began an Asian tour in 2009, premiering in Tokyo on February 4, 2009, then moving on Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Sendai.[12]

Since Corteo's première in Montreal in 2005, it has been seen by more than 5 million spectators. Corteo celebrated its 1000th show in January 2008 in San Diego; its 1500th show in June 2009 in Nagoya, Japan; and its 2000th show in September 2010 in Kazan, Russia.[5]

The following colorboxes indicate the region of each performance:
 EU   Europe  NA   North America  SA   South and Central Americas  AP   Asia/Pacific  OC   Oceania  AF   Africa

Grand Chapiteau tour

2005 schedule

 NA   Montreal, QC - From 21 April 2005 to 19 June 2005 (show première)
 NA   Quebec, QC - From 30 June 2005 to 24 July 2005
 NA   Toronto, ON - From 4 August 2005 to 11 September 2005
 NA   Minneapolis, MN - From 23 September 2005 to 23 October 2005
 NA   San Francisco, CA - From 11 November 2005 to 8 January 2006

2006 schedule

 NA   San Jose, CA - From 19 January 2006 to 5 March 2006
 NA   Phoenix, AZ - From 16 March 2006 to 9 April 2006
 NA   New York, NY - From 25 April 2006 to 2 July 2006
 NA   Chicago, IL - From 14 July 2006 to 27 August 2006
 NA   Boston, MA - From 8 September 2006 to 15 October 2006
 NA   Washington, DC - From 26 October 2006 to 26 November 2006
 NA   Atlanta, GA - From 15 December 2006 to 28 January 2007

2007 schedule

 NA   Dallas, TX - From 9 February 2007 to 11 March 2007
 NA   Houston, TX - From 22 March 2007 to 29 April 2007
 NA   Columbus, OH - From 11 May 2007 to 10 June 2007
 NA   Denver, CO - From 22 June 2007 to 5 August 2007
 NA   Los Angeles, CA - From 23 August 2007 to 28 October 2007
 NA   Costa Mesa, CA - From 8 November 2007 to 23 December 2007

2008 schedule

 NA   San Diego, CA - From 11 January 2008 to 17 February 2008
 NA   Portland, OR - From 4 March 2008 to 13 April 2008
 NA   Seattle, WA - From 24 April 2008 to 1 June 2008
 NA   Vancouver, BC - From 12 June 2008 to 20 July 2008
 NA   Calgary, AB - From 31 July 2008 to 7 September 2008
 NA   Ottawa, ON - From 24 September 2008 to 26 October 2008
 NA   Miami, FL - From 13 November 2008 to 28 December 2008

2009 schedule

 AP   Tokyo, JP - From 4 February 2009 to 5 May 2009
 AP   Nagoya, JP - From 21 May 2009 to 12 July 2009
 AP   Osaka, JP - From 29 July 2009 to 18 October 2009
 AP   Tokyo, JP - From 4 November 2009 to 24 January 2010

2010 schedule

 AP   Fukuoka, JP - From 11 February 2010 to 4 April 2010
 AP   Sendai, JP - From 21 April 2010 to 6 June 2010
 EU   St Petersburg, RU - From 26 June 2010 to 8 August 2010
 EU   Kazan, RU - From 21 August 2010 to 26 September 2010
 EU   Moscow, RU - From 9 October 2010 to 12 December 2010

2011 schedule

 EU   Brussels, BE - From 4 January 2011 to 30 January 2011
 EU   Vienna, AT - From 10 February 2011 to 20 March 2011
 EU   Madrid, ES - From 2 April 2011 to 5 June 2011
 EU   Valencia, ES - From 16 June 2011 to 17 July 2011
 EU   Alicante, ES - From 28 July 2011 to 28 August 2011
 EU   Sevilla, ES - From 8 September 2011 to 16 October 2011
 EU   Paris, FR - From 4 November 2011 to 8 Jan 2012

2012 schedule

  •  EU   Barcelona, ES - From 20 Jan 2012 to 11 Mar 2012
  •  EU   Amsterdam, NL - From 22 Mar 2012 to 3 Jun 2012
  •  EU   Antwerp, BE - From 13 Jun 2012 to 1 Jul 2012
  •  EU   Zurich, CH - From 1 Sep 2012 to 15 Sep 2012
  •  EU   Dusseldorf, DE - From 18 Oct 2012 to 18 Nov 2012
  •  EU   Berlin, DE - From 29 Nov 2012 to 30 Dec 2012

2013 schedule

  •  EU   Hamburg, DE - From Jan 9 2013 to Feb 10 2013

References

  1. ^ "An All-Time Attendance Record set for a New Show in Montreal more than 200,000 People have already seen Corteo". Cirque du Soleil (Press Release). 2005-05-24. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
  2. ^ a b Richard Connema. "Cirque du Soleil's Corteo comes to San Francisco". Retrieved 19 August 2007.
  3. ^ a b c d "Corteo Technical Information" (PDF). Cirque du Soleil (Press Kit). Retrieved 2011-02-14.
  4. ^ "Corteo: Characters". Cirque du Soleil. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
  5. ^ a b c "Corteo: Press Kit" (PDF). Cirque du Soleil (Press Kit). Retrieved 2011-02-14.
  6. ^ a b c Clément, Ronald (2009). Cirque du Soleil 25 Years of Costumes (in CN, English, French, and JP). Canada: Dépôt légal, Bibliothèque et Archives Canada. pp. 90–95. ISBN 978-2-9803493-4-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
  7. ^ "Corteo: Acts". Cirque Tribune. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
  8. ^ "Corteo: Music". Cirque du Soleil. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
  9. ^ "Corteo (DVD)". Cirque Tribune. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
  10. ^ "Cirque du Soleil: Corteo". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
  11. ^ "TV Programs Cirque du Soleil Presents Corteo and Kà Extremem Win an Emmy and two Gémeaux". Cirque du Soleil (Press Release). 2007-09-10. Retrieved 2011-02-14.
  12. ^ "Corteo". Cirque du Soleil official website. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
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